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London has the highest concentration of cocaine in its sewers in Europe

Thursday, June 18th, 2015

London has topped the league table for the highest amount of cocaine in its sewers compared to anywhere else in Europe.

Recent data collected from the European Union’s drug monitoring body, after sampling more than 50 cities and taking into account each cities population size, found that London came top for the largest amount of cocaine flushed down toilets throughout the capital.

The results for 2014 indicated that 737mg of cocaine per 1000 people was disposed of in this way during the week, closely followed by 716mg in Amsterdam – with the amount dramatically increasing on a Friday and Saturday. At the other end of the scale, the area of Jvaskyla, located in Finland, came in at the bottom of the table, with researchers only finding 0.6mg per 1000 residents.

The scientists carrying out the tests also found that the drug Methamphetamine was present in the sewage systems of Norway and Germany. However, no trace of this particular drug were found within London’s systems.

Worryingly, the separate annual 2015 report from the EMCDDA also warns that although there are many websites openly selling ‘legal highs’, a large number of drug agencies have a limited understanding of the drug trade happening on varying levels of the world wide web that cannot be accessed through standard searches.

“We are shocked to hear that London has been found to have the highest concentration of cocaine in its sewage, according to the recent survey that has been carried out across Europe,” says Fraser Ruthven, Head of Marketing and Growth at LDF.

“Unfortunately, these findings highlight another stark reminder of some of the more dangerous items which enter our drainage network. The authorities in charge must really begin to get their heads together to start tackling this grave problem.”